Lakeland Police Chief Lisa Womack fired two sergeants Monday for their part in an unfolding sex scandal that has embroiled numerous members of the department's sworn officers and city employees.

By JEREMY MAREADY & MATTHEW PLEASANTTHE LEDGER

LAKELAND | Lakeland Police Chief Lisa Womack fired two sergeants Monday for their part in an unfolding sex scandal that has embroiled numerous members of the department's sworn officers and city employees, according to the Lakeland Police Department.Another sergeant resigned before she was fired Monday for her actions in a shooting case where she caused a mistrial and mishandled evidence, according to the department."As of today I wanted to talk about disciplinary actions that have been taken and steps that have occurred over the last several days," Police Chief Womack said during a news conference Monday afternoon. "Working through what is required by law for us to do and affording all of our officers their due process rights, I have come to the conclusion that disciplinary actions are warranted in the investigation of these matters."Sgts. David Woolverton, 38, and Rusty Longaberger, 45, were fired Monday for conduct unbecoming, failure to report misconduct and neglect of duty, according to the department.Woolverton was hired by the department in 1992 and his salary was $76,505. Longaberger was hired in 1999, according to city records, and made $73,535.Sgt. Felicia Caldwell-Wilson, 44, resigned Monday before she was fired. She was hired in 1994. The findings against her cited job knowledge, competency and performance; neglect of duty; untruthfulness; interaction and cooperation between department personnel; and conduct unbecoming.The pre-disciplinary hearings for the three sergeants were held late Friday, which gave Womack the weekend to decide their fates, she said. There also could be more disciplinary actions happening later this week or next week."These are the first steps the police department is taking, but there are also other multiple departments throughout the city (that are) also involved," Womack said. "This is a very multifaceted investigation. So we are moving through it very quickly, as we can, and methodically, as we can, making sure all things are done correctly."At least 20 current and former LPD officers and supervisors and some city employees have been implicated in the sex scandal that has rocked the department. At the center of it all is one woman, crime analyst Sue Eberle, who remains on paid administrative leave.The unfolding debacle has led some officials, including state legislators, to call for outside intervention for LPD.LPD Detective Nick Marolda, who is president of the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association, said appeals would be filed in the next two weeks on behalf of Woolverton and Longaberger.During that process, Womack will review any new information submitted by the officers and their PBA representatives. Womack could uphold or overturn the cases, Marolda said.If Womack decides to uphold their cases, the PBA can continue its appeal to City Manager Doug Thomas. If unsatisfied there, the officers can appeal to an executive board, which can decide to send the case to arbitration, Marolda said. Last week, Capt. John Thomason, who had also been implicated in the sexual misconduct investigation, retired in lieu of being fired.

SGT. DAVID WOOLVERTONSome of Eberle's most serious allegations involve Woolverton, who was a traffic homicide unit member.Eberle told investigators that on two occasions Woolverton entered her office and forced her to have sex on top of her desk — an accusation he repeatedly said was false, according to the investigators' report.Based on the State Attorney's Office report, the alleged incidents occurred in 2008 or 2009.Woolverton said they did have consensual sex in his vehicle in 2006 and 2007 at Lake Parker Park. He also said they exchanged explicit text messages that included videos and pictures.The State Attorney's Office offered Woolverton a polygraph test, but he declined.Investigators confirmed Eberle told others, including co-workers, that Woolverton had assaulted her. One was Jackie Suggs, an LPD victim advocate. Suggs said she did not report the allegations because Eberle was a "grown woman," the reports said."Suggs added she doesn't normally blame the victim, but (the employee) should have reported it at the time instead of four to five years later," the report said.Others who knew about it included an acquaintance who told investigators she tried to help Eberle, who said she had been molested by relatives as a child.As a result of the alleged rape by Woolverton, Eberle began cutting herself and had attempted suicide by taking pills, the acquaintance said.

SGT. RUSTY LONGABERGEREberle also made serious allegations involving Longaberger, who was in charge of school resource officers.The report said Longaberger confirmed he drove to Orlando in 2012 to have sex with her two to three times while she was attending training. Eberle alleges that during one of those trysts, Longaberger forced her to have a certain type of sex that she didn't want to have. Longaberger denied that allegation, according to reports.Eberle also accused Longaberger of forcing her to perform oral sex on him as he drove his vehicle around the city, an allegation he also denied, the reports said.Womack said she could not talk specifically about the cases concerning Longaberger and Woolverton since the investigation into other members of the department is ongoing.

FELICIA WILSONThe department suspended Wilson's authority as a police officer in March and opened an internal investigation into a shooting case she managed. The move came after State Attorney Jerry Hill wrote letters to Womack detailing the department's mishandling of the shooting investigation.Hill also said in a letter that his office would no longer accept testimony from Wilson without a corroborating witness.The shooting involved nine-time convicted felon Tonyo Evans, who shot another man in June 2011 during a card game. In that case, Hill cited the department's handling of the investigation.Hill noted Wilson forgot to bring evidence to court after repeated reminders to do so. He also said that Wilson's testimony often went outside the scope of questioning and that she had to refer to reports for basic information, drawing objections from Evans' lawyer.Evans is serving a five-year sentence, when he could have faced no less than 20 years in prison.On April 16, Womack reassigned Wilson to oversee the agency's Community Services Unit. That position was left vacant after Greg Robinson stepped down after officers charged him April 17 in the theft of 50 Publix gift cards worth $1,000. He had been on paid administrative leave since March.Wilson, who earned $69,997 a year, returned to the rank of sergeant last year. In 2009, the agency demoted her to officer after an investigation showed she violated department policy during a car chase and while signing up for overtime work.The internal investigation into Wilson had been ongoing since she was notified by Hill's letter, Womack explained. Since that time, investigators wanted to know what exactly occurred, reviewed the court testimony and evaluated the practices of officers as it related to this case.Specifically, Womack said investigators found there was a problem with the report writing of officers, which had already been known from other cases and corrected.

[ Jeremy Maready can be reached at jeremy.maready@theledger.com or 863-802- 7592. Matthew Pleasant can be reached at matthew.pleasant@theledger.com or 863-802-7590. ]

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